Operating Environment Based Wireless Communication Devices and Methods

1. A wireless communication device comprising: a medium access control device configured to determine a first parameter based on a condition of a channel, wherein the wireless communication device communicates, via the channel, with a device separate from the wireless communication device; a first module configured to, based on the first parameter, determine whether an operating environment of the wireless communication device is a rich-scattering environment or a line of sight environment; and a second module configured to adjust a second parameter of the wireless communication device based on the operating environment as determined by the first module, wherein the second parameter is different than the first parameter, the second parameter is a spatial multiplexing of the wireless communication device, and the second module is configured to (i) increase the spatial multiplexing responsive to the operating environment being determined by the first module to be a rich-scattering environment, and (ii) decrease the spatial multiplexing responsive to the operating environment being determined by the first module to be a line of sight environment.

2. The wireless communication device of claim 1 , wherein the wireless communication device receives the first parameter from the device separate from the wireless communication device.

3. The wireless communication device of claim 1 , further comprising a generator configured to determine a frame error rate of a signal transmitted on the channel, wherein the first module is configured to determine the operating environment of the wireless communication device based on the frame error rate.

4. The wireless communication device of claim 1 , further comprising a generator configured to determine an angle of array of a signal transmitted on the channel, wherein the first module is configured to determine the operating environment of the wireless communication device based on the angle of array.

5. The wireless communication device of claim 4 , wherein the angle of array of the signal is a direction of propagation of the signal from the wireless communication device to the device separate from the wireless communication device.

6. The wireless communication device of claim 4 , wherein the first module is configured to determine the operating environment of the wireless communication device to be: a rich-scattering environment responsive to the angle of array being greater than a predetermined angle; and a line of sight environment responsive to the angle of array being less than the predetermined angle.

7. The wireless communication device of claim 1 , further comprising a generator configured to determine a packet error rate between the wireless communication device and the device separate from the wireless communication device, wherein the first module is configured to determine the operating environment of the wireless communication device based on the packet error rate.

8. The wireless communication device of claim 1 , further comprising a generator configured to determine a strength of a signal transmitted on the channel, wherein the first module is configured to determine the operating environment of the wireless communication device based on the strength of the signal.

9. The wireless communication device of claim 1 , further comprising a generator configured to determine a bit error rate between the wireless communication device and the device separate from the wireless communication device, wherein the first module is configured to determine the operating environment of the wireless communication device based on the bit error rate.

10. The wireless communication device of claim 1 , further comprising a generator configured to determine a quality measurement of a signal transmitted on the channel, wherein the first module is configured to determine the operating environment of the wireless communication device based on the quality measurement.

11. The wireless communication device of claim 1 , further comprising a generator configured to determine a signal to noise ratio of a signal transmitted on the channel, wherein the first module is configured to determine the operating environment of the wireless communication device based on the signal to noise ratio.

12. The wireless communication device of claim 1 , wherein: based on the condition of the channel, the medium access control device is configured to (i) determine a rank of a matrix of the channel, and (ii) a frame error rate of a signal transmitted on the channel; and based on the rank and the frame error rate, the second module is configured to adjust (i) a bandwidth of the wireless communication device, and (ii) the spatial multiplexing of the wireless communication device.

13. The wireless communication device of claim 12 , wherein the second module is configured to: decrease the bandwidth of the wireless communication device and increase the spatial multiplexing of the wireless communication device when (i) the frame error rate is less than or equal to a first threshold, and (ii) the rank is greater than a second threshold; and increase the bandwidth of the wireless communication device and decrease the spatial multiplexing of the wireless communication device responsive to (i) the frame error rate being less than or equal to the first threshold, and (ii) the rank being less than or equal to the second threshold.

14. A wireless communication device comprising: a medium access control device configured to determine a first parameter based on a condition of a channel, wherein the wireless communication device communicates, via the channel, with a device separate from the wireless communication device; a first module configured to, based on the first parameter, determine whether an operating environment of the wireless communication device is a rich-scattering environment or a line of sight environment; and a second module configured to adjust a second parameter of the wireless communication device based on the operating environment as determined by the first module, wherein the second parameter is different than the first parameter, the second parameter is a spatial multiplexing of the wireless communication device, the second module is configured to adjust the spatial multiplexing by adjusting a number of parallel paths for transmission of a symbol sequence between the wireless communication device and the device separate from the wireless communication device, and the symbol sequence is space-time processed and multiplexed.

15. A wireless communication device comprising: a medium access control device configured to determine a first parameter based on a condition of a channel, wherein the wireless communication device communicates, via the channel, with a device separate from the wireless communication device; a first module configured to, based on the first parameter, determine whether an operating environment of the wireless communication device is a rich-scattering environment or a line of sight environment; a second module configured to adjust a second parameter of the wireless communication device based on the operating environment as determined by the first module, wherein the second parameter is different than the first parameter; and a rank module configured to determine a rank of a matrix of the channel, wherein the first module is configured to determine the operating environment of the wireless communication device based on the rank of the matrix.

16. The wireless communication device of claim 15 , wherein the first module is configured to determine the operating environment of the wireless communication device to be: the rich-scattering environment responsive to the matrix having a full rank; and the line of sight environment responsive to the rank of the matrix being equal to 1.

17. The wireless communication device of claim 16 , wherein the matrix has a full rank when (i) a total number of linearly independent rows and independent columns of the matrix is less than or equal to (ii) a total number of rows and columns of the matrix.

18. The wireless communication device of claim 15 , wherein the rank is equal to a total number of linearly (i) independent rows of the matrix, or (ii) independent columns of the matrix.

19. A wireless communication device comprising: a medium access control device configured to determine a first parameter based on a condition of a channel, wherein the wireless communication device communicates, via the channel, with a device separate from the wireless communication device; a first module configured to, based on the first parameter, determine whether an operating environment of the wireless communication device is a rich-scattering environment or a line of sight environment; and a second module configured to adjust a second parameter of the wireless communication device based on the operating environment as determined by the first module, wherein the second parameter is different than the first parameter, wherein based on the condition of the channel, the medium access control device is configured to (i) determine an angle of array of a signal transmitted on the channel, and (ii) a packet error rate between the wireless communication device and the device separate from the wireless communication device, and based on the angle of array and the packet error rate, the second module is configured to adjust (i) a bandwidth of the wireless communication device, and (ii) spatial multiplexing of the wireless communication device.

20. A wireless communication device comprising: a medium access control device configured to determine a first parameter based on a condition of a channel, wherein the wireless communication device communicates, via the channel, with a device separate from the wireless communication device; a first module configured to, based on the first parameter, determine whether an operating environment of the wireless communication device is a rich-scattering environment or a line of sight environment; and a second module configured to adjust a second parameter of the wireless communication device based on the operating environment as determined by the first module, wherein the second parameter is different than the first parameter, wherein based on the condition of the channel, the medium access control device is configured to (i) determine a strength of a signal transmitted on the channel, and (ii) a bit error rate between the wireless communication device and the device separate from the wireless communication device, and based on the strength of the signal and the bit error rate, the second module is configured to adjust (i) a bandwidth of the wireless communication device, and (ii) spatial multiplexing of the wireless communication device.

21. A wireless communication device comprising: a medium access control device configured to determine a first parameter based on a condition of a channel, wherein the wireless communication device communicates, via the channel, with a device separate from the wireless communication device; a first module configured to, based on the first parameter, determine whether an operating environment of the wireless communication device is a rich-scattering environment or a line of sight environment; and a second module configured to adjust a second parameter of the wireless communication device based on the operating environment as determined by the first module, wherein the second parameter is different than the first parameter, wherein based on the condition of the channel, the medium access control device is configured to (i) determine a quality measurement of a signal transmitted on the channel, and (ii) a signal to noise ratio of a signal transmitted on the channel, and based on the quality measurement and the signal to noise ratio, the second module is configured to adjust (i) a bandwidth of the wireless communication device, and (ii) spatial multiplexing of the wireless communication device.

22. The wireless communication device of claim 21 , wherein: decrease the bandwidth of the wireless communication device and increase the spatial multiplexing of the wireless communication device responsive to (i) the quality measurement being greater than or equal to a first threshold, and (ii) the signal to noise ratio being greater than a second threshold; and increase the bandwidth of the wireless communication device and decrease the spatial multiplexing of the wireless communication device responsive to (i) the quality measurement being greater than or equal to the first threshold, and (ii) the signal to noise ratio being less than or equal to the second threshold.